Excavating and granding machine



L. A. KRUPP. EXCAVATING AND GRADING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. I8, I9I 9.

L. A. KBUPP. EXCAVATING AND GRADING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG-.18, |919. y 1,347,860. y PatentedJuly 27,1920.

a SHEETS-.sneer 2.

I L. A. KRUPP.

EXCAVATING AND GRADING MACHINE'. APPLICATION FILED AUG. Is, I9I9.

1,347,860.v Patented July 27,1920.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

nai-aseo.

UNITED STATES APATENT i OFFICE. .A

LEO A. KRUPP, or FINDLAY, OHIO, AssIGNon 'ro 'r1-IE BUOKEYE 'rnAo'rI-ON DITCHER COMPANY, or FINDLAY, OHIO, A CORPORATION or OHIO. f l

EXCAVATING AN GRADING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent. ,Patented July 27, 192() Application filed August 18, 1919.V Serial No. 318,174.

Be it known that l, Lao A. Knorr, a citizen of the AUnited States, and a resident of Findlay, in the county of Hancock and State of Ohio, have invented a certain new and useful Excavating and Grading Machine; and l do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the inventiomsuch as will. enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the characters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

rlfhis invention relates to excavatingmachines and has for its primary object the provision of a ditch excavating machine in connection with a grading machine where by a' ditch is dug or enlarged and the excavations therefrom delivered to the surface of road at the side of a ditch and graded or spread thereover by a single machine.

Further Objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description. Y

Vslhile the invention in its broader aspect is capable of embodiment in numerous forms, a preferred embodiment thereof is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which, Y

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a machine embodying the invention with parts broken away. Fig. 2 is a top plan viewA thereof with parts removed and parts broken away.

Fig. 3, is a rear end elevation of the mal chine with the excavating wheel lowered in Operative ditch digging position and'withv parts broken away and parts removed, and Fig. 4 is a side elevation of theexcavating mechanism and associated shoe removed from the machine and with Vparts broken away and removed.

Referring to the drawings, 1 designates the main frame of the machine, which frame, in the present instance, is substantially rectangular in form and comprises the opposed longitudinally extending side beams 2 and 3 (Figq) and the front and rear cross-beams 4 and 5 (Fig. 2). f' The frame 1 is also provided intermediate the side beams 2 and 3 with longitudinally ex tending .beams 6 and 7, which are spaced equally atopposite sides of the tractive center of the machine. The beams 6 7 extend forward from the front beam 4 and are connected at intervals in front .of'said cross-beam bv cross-members 8. yThe forward extended ends of the beams 6 and 7 Y ends of the beams 6 and 7, `cross pieces 8 and brace members 9, is supported by an axle member 12, which is pivoted thereto for horizontal turning orV steering movements and carries wheels 13 at its ends in advance of the respective tractor units 10.

A motor 14 is mounted, 'inthe present ini stance, over the left hand tractor unit 10 being supported by the beams 2 and 6 and suitable cross-beams. The motor shaft is in separate sections with a manually controlled clutch connection 15 therebetween. The outer shaft section is in geared connection within as case 16'with a counter-shaft '17, having a sprocket-wheel andI chain connection 18 with a second counter-shaft 19 that is journaled at its ends in bearings 20 mounted on the beams 6 and -7 adjacent to the front en'd of the frame. A jack-shaft 21is disposed below and at the rear ofthe coun-v ter-drive-shaft 19 being journaled at its ends in suitable bearings 22 on the under sides of the beamsv 6 and 7, andeach end of this shaft is in sprocket-wheel and chain connection 23 with the respective tractor unitl 10. The drive shaft 19 carries a loose gear 24 in mesh'with a larger gear 25 that is fast on the jack-shaft 21, and when itis desired to drive the tractor units at a greater speed than when digging, or 'when the machineis being transferred from one place to another, a' clutch member 26 that is feathered on thedrive shaft 19 is shifted into clutch engagement with the gear 24 so thatv the shaft 21 is then driven from the shaft 19 through the gears 24 and 25. A slower orV digging speed is imparted to the jack-shaft 21. as hereinafter described.

The cross-beams V4 and 5' are extendedy at the right of the machine beyond the frame beam 3 and each has a pair of uprights 27, which are spaced longitudinally of the respective beamv and rise" therefrom. outer and inner sets of uprights are rcon- `nected at their tops by transversely spaced Vbeams 2S, 28, which extend longitudinally of the frame. A pairV of cross-beams 29 connect the beams 28 in spaced relation adjacent to the centers of said beams and extend inwardly therefrom Vto a point over the frame beam 8 where they are supported by respective standards 39 rising from the beam 7. rlhe front uprights'2`7 are braced by an inclined member 81, which is connected at its lower left hand endtoa short upright V32 rising from the frame beam 6, which upright is in turnbraced by a member 33 extending to theV adjacent outer side of the yframe 1.V The superframe formed by the uprights mentioned and by the beams 28 and 29 not only serves to guide the raising and lowering;1novements of the excavating wheel but also carries a portion of the means for raising and loweringthe wheel.

, `The Yexcavating wheel 34 is mounted within a rectangular vertically movable carrying frame 35, which carries rollers 36 at the ends `of its side beams for guiding contact with the Yrespective uprights 27, which, in the present instance, are of angle iron form. The manner `of mounting the excavating wheel lilinthe'frame is well understood in the art and will therefore r not be described. The wheel.` carrying` frame 35 is suspended from the top of the superframe b four cables 37 which extend u )wardV Y a l from the lrespective corners of the frame 35 thence over sheaves 38' on shafts 69 Journaled'onthe beams2'8 and thence inward to i andwind around respective-drums l0 on a shaft 56 that is journaled on the beams28 anden a cross-beam 51, which conneetsthe Itl willbe understood .that Vthe .ca-bles; 37 at opposite ends ofthe wheel carrying frame 35 ,wind inA opposite directions around the drumsfLlO.-

The shaft 5U is provided adjacent to its( inner end with a worm-wheel 52`witl1 which a worm .on an inclined shaft meshes.

The lower end of the shaft 5-1 carriesa bevel, gear 55 inmesh with twolbevelY gears 56 loose onlthe drive shaft` 19, whereby the shiftingof afcllitch member' (Fig. 3),

which isfeathered on the shaft 'intermediateV the 0fears 56, ,into driving engagement with v e l.

either gear 56 causes a driving of the shaftV 50in one directionor the other, asthecase maybe, to raise or lower the wheel carrying frame 375. Y A

i Ash :38,is Vjournaledy above the plane of the frame 1 in suitable bearings on theforwarduprights 27 andgnprightsLBQ as wellas` an intermediate upright 59 rising from thei beam, ,l and 'the4 shaft 1,9 has driving The Y art.

Vchain-and-sprocket connection 69 with the shaft 58 with the sprocket member thereof which is mounted-on the shaft 19, loose on said shaft andengaged thereto by means of the shiftable clutch member 26, which may be moved to engage either the gear 2a or the rocliet wheel of the connection 60, but not both at the same time. The shaft 5S is provided adjacent to but at opposite sides of the front upright 27 of the superframe with sprocket-wheels 61, 61 which are in chain connection 62 with respective sprocketwheels 63 that are carried at the outer ends of a shaft 64. This shaftL is journaled in bearingsv on top of the wheel carrying frame 85 and. extends transversely thereof through the excavatingwheel Bfl with which it has driving connection, as well understoodrin the art;

Vfrom the frame and coperates therewith to guide the rotation of the excavating wheel. Slope cutting wheels 65 are provided on their inner sides with bevel gears 67 with which beveled drive pinions 68 engage, said pinions being carried by a cross shaft 69 in the subframe 66 and having chain and sprocket connection with a shaft 79 which is elevated with respect thereto and is in geared connection .with-,the shaft 64, all ofwhich is lwell understood in the caif'ating wheel 34 and slope cutting wheels are driven from the shaft 58 Ywhich in turn is driven from the driveshaft 19.

A scraper shoe 71 is suspended from the wheel carrying frame 35 at the rear of the excavating .wheel for the purpose :of gathering any soil which may fall back into or be left inthe trench being dug, as is common in machines of this type. This shoe has its supporting frame; or structure pro'videdwith forwardly and upwardly eX- tending armsV 72, one at eaehsideof .the cutting wheel, andY these arms are ypivoted a their-,upper ends, in theV present instance, to tl elupper lportion of the4 subframe 66 for y..tical swinging movements to permit a raising or Vlowering of the-shoe relative,

lt is thus evident that both the eX-l tothe .wheel and frame The shoe structure'is also provided with one or more upstanding arms 7 3, whichV extend up through the adjacent end portion ofthe wheel Icarfng frame '35, andwh'en the excavating wheel Ais in lowered position and advancing in a trench being'dug, the shoe issecured in ope 'ative yrelation to theV bottom of the trench by bolt 74 which is projected through the arm 73 and ,apart of the frame 1When the cutting wheelris beinglowered into the round and is gradually cutting itself down to the desired depth the bolt 7l is removed so that the shoe 71 when resting ony the surface of the ground at the rear of the cutting wheel or when following the wheel down an Aincline being cut as the wheel advances and descends to the desired depth7 the shoe will be permitted to swing upward relative to the cutting wheel and thereby pr'event the frame 34 being supported at one end and prevented from lowering by reason of t-he shoe 71 resting on an elevated portion of the ground, This .is an important feature in connection with a machine of this type.

`The driving or advancing speed of the machine is very materiaily' reduced during the digging of a trench by driving the large gear on the jack-shaft 21 froma. similar pinion (not shown) on a shaft 75 in advance of the jack-shaft and the shaft 75 is in chain and sprocket connection 76 with l a shaft 77 that is j ournaled in suitable bearings beneath the frame beams 6 and 7 and is in turn driven from the shaft V58 through the chain'and sprocket connection 7 8. The chain and sprocket connection 76 between the shafts 7 5 and 77 is provided withV a plurality of stepped sprocket wheels v`on leach shaft, as shown in Fig. 2,'so as to enable the advancing speed of the machine to be changed by changing the sprocket chain from one set to another of theAsprocket wheels.

rIhe vsoil raised by the excavating wheel when in operation is discharged therefrom at the upper portion of the wheel and falls ontoa conveyer apron 79'which projects at one end within the wheel over the wheel carrying frame 35 and has its opposite end projected over the open space in the machine frame 1 between the two beams 6 and 7 so that the excavations are delivered to the surface of the ground at the side of the ditch being dug and between the tractor units 10. The conveyer .apron 79 passes around guide rollers 8O at opposite ends 'of a frame, which, inthe present instance, is in two sections S1 and 82 with the section 81 rigidly mounted in horizontal position on the frame 35 and with the section 82 pivoted at its inner end to the.

v inner end of the section 81 for vertical pivotal movement relative thereto to adapt the frame section 81 to raise and lower with the wheel carrying frame 35 without mateshaft 64 and carrying a sprocket wheel 85,.

which is indriving connection through the medium of a sprocket chain (not shown) with a sprocket wheel on the shaft with the rear apron guide roll 80. This conveyer in itself is old and nothing is claimed therefor apart from its use as an element in the combination.v

The machine frame 1 is provided at its rear end withV a platform S6 on which the operator stands and a plow or grading member` S7 of V-form is suspended from the rear portion of the frame and platform in` position to .level the soil which has been delivered to fthe ground or road between the tractor units 10, 1() and'to distribute the soil evenly over a space which-in width is substantially equal to the space between the longitudinal centers' of the tractor units.l

Y not covered by the excavations from the first ditch. In the use ofa machine of this class it is important that one-half of the road only be obstructed at a time by the machine so that traffic may be carried on along the unobstructed side,'and for this reason the machine is adaptedto level the diggings from the ditch at the adjacent side of the road over only substantially one-half of the road or the portion thereof over-which the machine is operating. l

In the use of this machine, the operator in starting a cut, the excavating wheel being in elevated position, lowers the same by throwing the clutch member 57 on the shaft 19 into engagement with the proper bevel-gear 56 thereby imparting rotation in the desired direction to the windlass shaft 50 to unwind the cables 37 therefrom and lower the frame 35 and cutter and digging means. He also throws the clutch member 26 into engagement with the sprocket-wheel and chain connection60 which imparts a digging movement to the excavating and slope cutting wheels, and driving of the conveyer apron, and also communicates a slow forward feeding movement to the machine by reason of the slow driving connection between theA shaft 58 and jack-shaft 21 which is connected to the two tractor units.A The operator also removes the bolt 74 from the scraper shoe frame to permit the shoe' to swing upward as the cutter wheel works downward and forward into the soil. When the cutter wheel has advanced a suiiicient distance toy veyer `apron 79, which in turn discharges obtain the desired depth of cut and to carry the scraper shoe 7l tree from the inclined cut just made, the bolt 74 isreplaced to rigidly vconnect the frame and shoe armA 73 to retain the latter in its lowered position, as shown in full lines in Fig. 4. The diggings 'from the ditch are raised'by the excavatingwheel and delivered t the conthem over the adjacent road between the tractor unitslO, l0 and at a desired distance from the ditch. As the machine advances over the excavations delivered onto the road the scraper .87 levels andV distributes Vthe same over substantially one-halt' of the road at the rear of the tractor units. Upon the return trip the-same operation is repeated for digging the ditch at the oppositeside oi' the road and for delivering the diggings to andvspreading' them over the surface o the adjacent half of the road.

I wish it understood that my invention is not limited to any specific construction, arrangement orform ofthe parts, as it is capa ble of numerous modiiications and changes Vwithout departingfromV the spirit of the a vided with an opening between said means,v Y an excavatlngmeans carried by the extended side of the trame at `a siderot said means and capable of beingV raised and lowered relative to the frame,vmechanism for operating said excavating means and imparting movement to the tractor means, and means for delivering the diggings oi the excavating means toa point between the tractor means andrthrough the frame opening.

2. In a machine of the class described, a frame, transversely spaced tractor means supporting the frame, with the frame -extending at one side beyond said Ymeans, an excavating means carried by the extended side of the frame and capable of being raised and lowered relative thereto, means tor delivering the diggings of said excavating means to a point betweenVV the tractor means, and means carried by the frame for vleveling and spreading the diggings delivered to the groundbetween the tractor means. 1

8. In a machine of the class described, a frametransversely spaced tractor means supporting the frame, the trame being extended at one side beyond the tractor' means and having a superstructure, an excavating wheel mounted in said superstructure for vertical movements therein, means for raising and lowering the excavating wheel in said superstructure, means for driving the excavating wheel, means for delivering excavation received from the wheel transversely oft-he frame to a point between the tractor means, and means carried by the frame for spreading and leveling the diggings Ydelivered to the soil between the tracf tor means.

ln'ftestimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name to thiss aeeieation.

y, Y .,LO A. KRUPP. 

